Celebration returning to Portales

July 3, 2005

By Tony Parra

Portales was such a popular place for the Channel 10 television representatives two years ago that the station will be making another trip to Portales for its Summer Celebration Tour.
During the tour on July 11, Channel 10 anchors will be conducting a telecast live from the downtown square in Portales. Portales residents will be celebrating in the downtown area and chamber officials are already expecting to have many of the same activities they had in July 2003. Roosevelt County Chamber Executive Director Kim Huffman said they are planning to have food and games. He said the Portales Fire Department will provide a fire hose for one of the games.
Terry Lopez, marketing director for KFDA NewsChannel 10 in Amarillo, said this will be the third year for the event. The representatives toured five cities, Portales, Clovis, Hereford, Texas, Guymon, Okla., and Childress, Texas in 2003.
“They were extraordinary the last time we went,” Lopez said about the first trip to Portales. “They laid out the red carpet for us. The people of Portales know how to put on a show.”
Lopez said this year’s tour will start with a celebration on Monday in Canyon, Texas. They will tour Portales, followed Guymon, Okla. on July 13 and Pampa, Texas on July 15.
Huffman said the last time KFDA came down to Portales, Doppler Dave Oliver did a weather forecast from Portales.
“There’s going to be many activities and forms of entertainment for everybody,” Huffman said.
The celebration will take place from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Lopez said the telecast will start with the celebration on the downtown square and go back to the station for the top stories. He said then the telecast will go back to celebration.
Lopez said there will also be casting calls for CBS’ reality show “The Amazing Race” in Guymon, Okla. and Portales. He said the casting will take place at one of the Portales businesses, which still needs to be worked out. Lopez said during the interviewing process KFDA representatives will interview the team members of those interested in participating in the worldwide race. He said they will sit down and interview them for three minutes and the team members will have to have their application filled out before the interview.
Other casting calls will take place in Chicago, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa and Indianapolis. He said KFDA held casting calls for CBS’ “Survivor” which drew more than 200 people for the interviews. He said they traveled from Albuquerque, San Antonio and Houston to Amarillo for the casting calls. According to Lopez, they also had casting calls for “America’s Next Top Model.”
Lopez said KFDA anchors and representatives will have taped interviews of Portales residents for the telecast. He said they will be talking about Portales and how it is to live in Portales.
People can print out applications or apply on the CBS Web site (www.cbs.com) for “The Amazing Race 9” competition. The deadline for applications is 6 p.m. (MDT) on July 26.